New school opens in Tamu, Burma

A buzz of excitement and the sound of laughter echoed around the new Sophia Academy school as it opened its doors to 180 children from Tamu for the first time in September 2013.

The Sophia Academy is an outstanding new facility supporting children from the Sophia Home in Tamu and the surrounding areas. In September, Stand by Me opened the school and began offering children after-school tuition, to supplement the inadequate education they are receiving at the local government schools. Without this vital educational support, many of the children would not pass their annual exams and would not have the opportunity to go on to further education.

At Stand by Me we know that education is vital in helping children to escape the cycle of poverty and it has been our dream to build a school in this area for many years. Our original aim was to open a full-time, Christian school, however, due to the extreme persecution of Christians in Burma, we have not been able to do so.

Our solution was to build an afternoon ‘tuition school’, where we are now offering children educational support, resources, love and medical care alongside their government education. The school is a key facility in the area as not only are the children now receiving a quality education, we are also able to reach out to their families, providing them with additional care.

The Sophia Academy is a beacon of light in a very troublesome town, which is situated 90 miles into a restricted and dangerous zone of Burma, close to the Burma and India border. The rapid growth in the town, due to passing trade, has brought increased crime, drug and alcohol abuse and many children’s lives have been devastated as a result.

The instability and extreme poverty of the area leaves many families struggling to survive, and the cost of education is far beyond their reach. Thanks to our supporters, we are now able to reach out and help so many deserving children in this area of Burma. You are helping us to open the door of opportunity for children, you are making a difference.